Iraq has fomally called on the US to launch air strikes against Sunni militants, as the country's largest oil refinery at Baiji is reported to have been captured by the jihadist rebels, Radio New Zealand reports.
Rena was nine months pregnant when a US air strike tore off her leg, killed her unborn infant and sister in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/F1kevQmvQ3
— Sham Al-Ghazali (@bitterarab) July 4, 2013
The militants were in control of three-quarters of the Baiji refinery, an official there told Reuters, after hours of heavy fighting at gates defended by elite troops who have been under siege for a week.
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has appealed to Iraqis to unite against the rebels, who he said were killing hundreds of people and destroying the country.
In an address on national television, the prime minister acknowledged the advance of the militants was a setback but said that it had allowed Iraq to recover its national unity.
He insisted the people of Iraq would not be defeated by the militants. “Those who are killers and criminals who represent foreign agendas,” he said.
